Monster shark swallows surfer in Jaws-style attack

A surfer was swallowed almost whole by a great white shark yesterday in a Jaws-style attack just offshore from San Onofre. Conservationists are now expecting renewed calls for killer sharks to be hunted down following the death Stu D. Talega - the latest in a series of attacks. Great whites have been a protected species in California waters since 1990, but calls for a cull have been growing following the deaths of several surfers this year. Two "point" surfers survived - although one needed 200 stitches to leg wounds and the other had to have 100 stitches to torn hips and buttocks. In yesterday's attack, Mr Talega's surfing partner, shot his board at the great white in a desperate attempt to drive it away, but he did not see his friend again. Murphy the Mayor was sitting in his camper, when he saw the great white breach the surface and was able to snap the above photo with his new tele-photo digital camera. "It was incredibly fast. The two surfers were not far from the beach. Suddenly a huge shark surged from under the water taking the one surfer [from his legs upwards] to his arms in its jaws," he said. "It must have been massive to have done that. Then the shark and the man just vanished." Other witnesses to the attack estimated the shark's length at 20 feet. Hundreds of onlookers lined the dirt road yesterday as a helicopter, lifeguard diver and boat search was carried out in an unsuccessful attempt to find the body of Mr Talega. Divers from the State recovered a neon green wetsuit- so damaged that it looked as though it had been sliced through with a knife - a hood, a leash, and a waterproof cel phone. State spokesman Hal Dairywimple said he believed the shark could have been attracted by the surfers splashing as they were kooks.